Where to start

[Baaaa]

Hi, I have been looking through the it will never happen thread and think I need to do some more reading about the sex/gender/trans issue to try and get my head around it. Does anyone know a good place to start?

There’s a thread called “Break it down for me” that contains everything you need to know. Hth.

Welcome!

We usually point people to the "Break it down for me" thread.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3145470-Break-it-down-for-me

This is a couple of years old but very readable and a good timeline:

janeclarejones.com/2018/11/13/the-annals-of-the-terf-wars/

Fab! Thank you so much!

As a general rule if you're reading anything about this:

• check sources - if someone is supposed to have 'said' something, go to the source and check what was actually said (cf JK Rowling's essay).

• be on the lookout for conflating 'sex' and 'gender' as the same/interchangeable or denoting them as separate things as a linguistic sleight of hand - this often changes depending on what is convenient to the writer/speaker to make their argument.

• think about what words actually mean and ask for definitions if unsure. There are a lot of phrases bandied about that are sort of meaningless when you analyse them.

• what is gender? That's the question with many (and none) answers. Is it masculinity and femininity? Is it an innate part of the brain that means you are 'male' or 'female', even though 'male' and 'female' are descriptors of which kind of body you have? Is it a synonym for 'sex role stereotypes'? Does gender equal sex, and does sex equal gender? If so, how can someone have a sex that's different from their gender? If not, how can they 'match' or 'not match'?

• ultimately, do you believe that women have historically been oppressed because they have female bodies, or because they feel 'like a woman'? (No, I don't know what that means either, as it relies on a fixed definition of 'woman').

I'd also recommend the book Trans by Helen Joyce.

And this is worth a perusal : gcritical.org/introduction/

And if you haven't already, have a good look around:

sex-matters.org/about/
and
fairplayforwomen.com/

I learnt loads from lurking and posting on this board too of course. Thank you MNetters

Don't worry if it all makes your brain ache, Baaaa, there's a huge amount to take in. I had to read months worth of threads here to try and understand.

The TERF Wars piece above is great, although possibly some of the later references might not mean much to you if you missed 2018...

If you want to see the "gender identity" stuff torn apart as the pseudo-science it is, this talk by Rebecca Reilly-Cooper is great:

@Beowulfa

Don't worry if it all makes your brain ache, Baaaa, there's a huge amount to take in. I had to read months worth of threads here to try and understand.

Hahaha! Yes looks a very active corner. I shall enjoy reading thank you all.

This Nolan Investigates set of podcasts could be useful too.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p09yjmph

Seconding the "Trans" book as a really good history and exploration of the issues. It's on Kindle too.

The Nolan podcast is interesting but is specifically about whether/how far Stonewall has/ should influenced public bodies such as the BBC.